Who You Callin' Shortbread Squares

Yeah, that's right! These little badasses are...well...badass! Passed along from one person to another, to me and thus a new OliveBeats baby was born. A bit labor intensive, but fattening little gems to make your will power fall right off a cliff and your best jeans to fit just a little bit tighter. But screw it...it's the holidays and who is really working out anyways? Isn't that what January is for?

This is not by any means and "made from scratch" goodie...more like a semi-homemade recipe. OH and it's NO BAKE too! Manipulate any which way you want if you know what you're doing. But for those not creative enough in the kitchen...just follow these instructions and you'll be a winner. Fully. Totally.

Carmel:

1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

3 Tblsp of salted butter

1 bag of milk chocolate chips (any brand you like)

1/2 cup of toffee chips

Shortbread cookies (Walkers or Lorna Doone)

Heat the milk and butter over med-low heat until it comes to a slow boil. Bring heat down and continuously stir until it becomes a light amber color. Spread the carmel over the cookies that are on a piece of parchment paper. Let cool in fridge for about 10 minutes.

Melt the chocolate and dip the cooled cookies. Sprinkle with toffee bits and again chill them in the fridge.

Mediterranean Meatballs with Hummus

You will NEVER need to order out for Mediterranean again after you learn how to make this dish. Change it up all you want to how YOU like it, but regardless....it'll capture all of the familiar flavors of cinnamon and allspice. I'm thinking this would also be a great appetizer and a yogurt dipping sauce eh? Wow, I'm still recovering from the two helpings I just finished.

Meatballs:

1 lb ground lamb
1 egg
6-8 minced kalamata olives
1 Tblsp chopped parsley
2 Tblsp minced red onion
1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs
3 Tbslp olive oil
2 Tblsp Greek seasoning
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt

Optional (but REALLY REALLY worth it):
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Prepared plain hummus
Prepared Israeli Couscous
Chopped red onion
Chopped Roma tomato

Preheat oven to 350F

Combine all of the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl using your hands or a fork. Using a cookie scoop or two large spoons, form the mixture into medium size balls and place into a large baking dish. Do not grease the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Around 15 minutes check if there is a lot of grease at the bottom of the dish. If so, drain most of it and place back into the oven. Serve over hummus and couscous and garnish with the onion, pine nuts and tomatoes. MMM! So good!!!!